Correlating indicator



sept, 2s, .1926. A 1,601,057`

H. H. BATES CORRELATING INDICATOR NOV. 19. 2 Sheets-Sheet l WITNEssEs; INVENToR /--fl y.

ATTORNEY ,Sep't.2s1926. 1,661,057

K H. H. BATES kCORHELATING INDICATOR Filed NOV. 19, 1924 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 28, 19726.

, v:narran stares tentes? FATENT QFFHCE.

HARRY H. BATES, OF RIDJEY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 1-O 'WESTNGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFAUTURING CUMPANY, A GORE'ORATEON OF PENNSYLVANIA.

connntarrne innicnron.

Application med November 19, 1924. serial N. 750,842.

matical tables or other extraneous devices.'

It is Well known that in modern industrial plants, many factors enter into the securing.

of the most efficient final result. rlhe value of these factors is usually given by indicators of various types such as gauges, thermometers, tachometers, and the like. lvVhile these have been in the past located in juxtaposed positions for convenience in observing the same, yet they have never been so located as to permit of a graphic correlation of the results as is now rendered possible by my discovery. y

An object of my invention is to produce device'in which an unskilled operator' shall be able to deduce from the indications of this device a conclusion regarding the relation 'of the various factors Which enter into the securing of an efficient result. Another pur'- pose of my invention is to produce a device Which shall bring the readings of the instrumentslocated in various parts of the plant into a position Where they can be simultaneously observed and to so arrange these readings that their inter-relations will be apparent Without resorting to calculations.

A still further object of my invention is to produce a device of this type which Will be light, simple, inexpensive, easy of manufacture, install-ation and repair, but which will at the same time be capablevof use by operators Without superior intellectual attainments. i

These and other objects of my invention Will be apparent from the following description having reference to the accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and in Which Fig.

' 1 is a front elevation of the device illustrating my invention as applied to a steam boiler With accompanying` stoking device. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line H-II of' Fig. 1; Fig. y3 is a d-etail perspective viev'v of one of the adjustable clamps shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a. diagrammatic representation of the indicator showing its relation to the boiler and stoker and Fig. 5 is a graphic representation of the variation of the factors influencing eilicient boiler operation as deducedfrom empirical data.

While I have shown my device as applied to a boiler and fuel feeding mechanism therefor, it should be understood that this is done solely for' the sake of illustration and vthat my indicator is capable of Wide adaptations to other apparatus in which a plurality of factors must be co-ordinated to secure the most efiicient operation thereof.

Referringto the illustrations, 10 represents an indicator which consists of a board 11, mounted on any stationary surface by means of the brackets 12 which consists of a straight section 13 engaging the board 10 and secured thereto by the bolts vMli. The extremities of the straight section 13 are bent to form legs 15 which are mounted on any convenient surface by thevscrews 16. In the board 10 Which is preferably vertical, are a number of holes 20` arranged vertically, one above the other. Through each of the' Aholes' 2O extends a tube 31, preferably of glass, which is bent over at 1'? and extends across' the board, being held by a clamp 19 which Will be described below. On the rear side of the board the tubes 'are' connected by suitable means such, for example, as rubber tubes 21 with the instruments Whose readings are to be indicated on the board. The end of the tube adjacent the clamp 19 may be sealed, opened or connected to another' instrument as Will be pointed out hereafter. The clamp 19 consists of a strip of metal 22 having a flat portion 23 and leg portions Q4 secured to the board '11. The fiat portion 2B is provided tv'ith a longitudinally extended slot 26. Mounted on top of the clamp 19 and moving adjustably along the slot 26 to which it is secured by bolts 2'?, is a U-sh aped member 29 which embraces the tube 31. This construction admits of lan adjustment of the inclination of the tube 31 about the hole 2O as its center. be curved about 20 as a center or it may be straight in which case the tube vlpwould slide relatively to the U-shaped member Q9.

In applying my indicator to a boiler I The bracket 19 may have found that it is advantageous to conl gas leaving the boiler; and the static pressure in the stoker wind box. These relations are graphically represented in Fig. 5 in which I show the most etiicient values as derived from a series-of experiments. The horizontal co-ordinates representing evaporation in pounds per hour and the curve A A representing the pounds of fuel burned per hour, B-B representing the drop in pressure through the boiler in inches of water, the curve C C representing` the temperature of the gas leaving` the boiler in degrees Fahrenheit, and the curve D--D representing the static pressure in the stoker wind box in inches of Water.

In connecting` the indicator to the boiler the tube 31 is connected at its end behind the indicator board through a vertical connection 3l', the liquid in which connection forms a balance for t-he liquid in the tube 3l, to a bypass l() around a section of the main steam line all. This bypass is provided with a reduced section I2 forming a Venturi meter. The connection from the end of the tube 3l terminating back of the instrument board is connected to the upstream side of the contracted portion or orifice Al2. The end of the tube 3l on the front of the board adjacent the clamp 19 is connected by suitable means 43 such, for example, as a properly reinforced rubber tube to the downstream side of the orifice 42. The tube 3i contains a liquid of proper specilic gravity such, for example. as mercury, in order th at the difference in pressure between the upstream and downstream sides of the orilice causes a change in level in the liquid in the tubes 3l and 3l. The change in level in the tube 3l causes the liquid to move back and forth across the board and is read with relation to the graduations st on the board below the tube 3l.

In the ordinary boiler operation, variable loads are encountered due to the demand placed upon the prime movers to which the steam is delivered. rthis variation is beyond the control of the boiler attendant and in order to compensate for these variable loads he must change the speed of operation of the various devices which are within his control, in order that the relation between all the factors governing the operation of the boiler may be that which gives most etlicientperformance. rlhe mechanisms which are most commonly controllable by a boiler room attendant` are the speed of a stoker 41S and of a blower e9. In order that these factors may be graphically shown juxtaposed to the indication of the load shown in tube 3l, I place an impeller pump 51 of well-known construction on the stoker drive mechanism. As is well-known, the pressure developed by an impeller pump is proportional to some function of speed of the pump. I therefore connect the circulating system of the pump 5l bv means of a tube 52 to the tube 3lil on the board ll. lVhile any liquid may be used in the pump7 I have found it advantageous to use a mineral oil such as is ordinarily used for lubrication; and, should it bc so desired, this impeller pump might well be used to supply lubricating oil for the stoker drive mechanism. The speed of the stoker drive mechanism, which regulates the amount of fuel fed to the furnace per hour, produces a variation of pressure in the tube rthe tube 52 is connected with the tube 3l and variations of pressure in tube 52 cause the liquid in the tube 3l to travel back and forth across the face of the board. In the case of the tube 3l the end adjacent the clamp 19 is left open to the atmosphere. The tube Ell is straight or curved as is found necessary from the curve A in Fig. 5. rI`he relative curvature of the tubes 2:51 and 3l and their inclination is such that for any given rate of evaporation of water shown in tube El the corresponding fuel delivery rate in pounds per hour is that vertically above. Thus, when the boiler room attendant observes a fluctuation in the liquid in the tube 3l he has only to regulate his stoker feed mechanism to bring the liquid in the tube l vertically above that in tube 3l.

In addition to controlling the amoutl of fuel delivered to the furnace the boiler room attendant must also regulate the draft. rIhis is done by regulating the speed of a blower ai) which delivers a current ot' air through the stoker wind box 5l to the fui'- nace .53. In order that the speed of the blower It) may be correlated to the load, l provide an opening 5U in the wind box 5 and connect the tube 3l to the opening I) through a tube having' a vertical portion 5 adjacent the indicator board, the tube .3 and the tube ll which is open to the atmosphere at the end adjacent the clamp l5) forming a manometer for indicating the static head in the Stoker wind bon. 'l'he curvature and inclination of the tube 31d relative to the tube 3l would be determined from the curve D-D in Fig. and would be such that for any load the level of the liquid in the tube 3l which indicates the correct static pressure would be vertically above the liquid in the tube 3l indicating that load. Thus, the boiler room attendant on noting a lluetuation in the load regulates the .speed otl the fan il) to bringthe level of the liquid in tube 3 l above that in 3l. ly the aid of this device the boiler room attendant is able to regulate the mechanism at his command in accordance with the fluctuation of the load imposed upon the boiler attendant upon varions demands of the prime mover by siniply noting whether the liquids in the various tubes are vertically one above the other.

In addition to the stoker speed and the pressure in the stoker wind box there are lua Cin

two other phenomena which are important in maintaining efficient operation of the boiler, These are to a great degree dependent on the amount of fuel fed to the furnace and to the pressure of air under the grate but they require careful observation and I have accordingly provided for their indication on the instrument board. These are the drop in pressure through the passes of the boilerI and the temperature of the gas at the exit from the boiler to the uptake. To indicate these l have provided a tube Sib for indicating the pressure drop through the passes and a tube Si@ for indicating the temperature of the gases at eXit. rllhe tube 31h is `connected by means of connections 6l and 62 with the first pass 63 and the last pass 64, respectively, of the boiler 66. The connection 6l includes al substantially vertical section adjacent the tube 31h forming therewith a manometer indicating the difference in pressure in the front and rear passes of the boiler. rlhe tube Sie which is preferably sealed at the end adjacent the clamp 19 is connected with a pyrometric element 68 in the uptake 69. The pyrometric device 68 may comprise a vessel 70 containing some volatile liquid evaporable at ordinary iue gas temperatures thereby7 creating a pressure in the conduit leading to the tube 31C. rlhe pressure reading of the liquid in the tube 3lc is thus'indicative of the temperature in the uptake 69. The curvature and inclination of the tubes 31h and 31C with respect to the tube. 3l are derived from the curves B-B and C-C respectively of Fig. 5 and are such that when the boiler is operating under the most efficient conditions for any given load, as indicated in the tube 31, the surfaces of the liquids in tubes Slb and 8l are vertically above the surface of the liquid in tube lt is thus apparent that have devised an indicator in which the indications of most efficient operation bear simple relationl one to the other, that is, they are arranged in a straight line. The most unskilled observer is thus enabled to note any discrepancy from the efficient setting without the use of tables or calculations of any manner whatsoever.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that itis not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changesy and modifications, without departing` from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall'be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

l/Vhat l claim is l. fr correlating indicator comprising a board having a number of openings arranged in a straight line, tubes extending through said openings and bent into substantial parallelism with the board and adjustable clamping means for clamping said tubes adjacent their extremities opposite to said holes, said tubes being curved with respect to each other by an amount dependent upon the characteristic curves of the phenomena which they are desivned to indicate.

2. The combination with a power-generating system subject to load fluctuations between predetermined minima and maxima and embodying various pieces of apparatus in each of which the activity varies in accordance with a predetermined law upon a load change, of means for developing a pressure atY a central point proportional to the activity-of each piece of apparatus, respectively, and a manometric tube for each of said pieces of apparatus at said central point subject to the pressure thereupon and shaped in accordance with the law governing the associated piece of apparatus, whereby'the degrees of activity of the various pieces of apparatus are reduced to a common scale, the adjustment being such that the various indications bear a distinctive relationship upon the proper functioning of each piece of apparatus, at a given load, and not otherwise.

3. The combination with astoker tired boiler furnace, of means for simultaneously registering on a single device the load on the boiler and pressures obtaining in various parts of the furnace in their proper relations to the load on the boiler, al rotary member of the stoker, a pump driven by the rotary member and developing a pressure which is a function of the speed of the Stoker and consequently the fuel delivered thereby to the furnace, and means for registering the pressure developed by the pump in terms of rate of fuel fed to the furnace in its proper relation to the other data registered on the device.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunte subscribed my name this tenth day of November 1924.

HARRY H. BATES. 

